Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Sautéed Squash and Tomatoes make a great “go-with”

The magazine billed it as a way to “rethink steak night”. The idea,

Southern Living’s August 2011 issue suggested,

was to consider some “today” sides that liven up steaks on the grill.

We’re not big steak grillers, but I did think the photo of Sautéed Squash and Tomatoes that accompanied the food feature was beautiful. As I mentioned earlier this week, I had some beautiful fresh squash, zucchini, and tomatoes that needed to find their ways into recipes. I wasn’t rethinking steak night, but the recipe helped me rethink veggie sides in general.

The SL recipe

called for

sautéeing

the bacon strips and then reserving the drippings to sautée other additions, but it didn’t say what to do with the reserved bacon strips. I simply crumbled them at the end and stirred them into the veggies. It added to the bacon-y flavor of the veggies.

I could envision serving this simple, colorful dish again and again alongside chicken, fish, or burgers. Or, as part of an all-veggie dinner, which was our fare for this particular evening, it was a star attraction.

for 8 minutes or until bacon is crisp; remove bacon. Drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. (With my turkey bacon, I added a little olive oil to drippings to make 2 tablespoons, since turkey bacon fries up with little fat.) Sauté onion and next 4 ingredients in hot drippings for 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add zucchini and yellow squash; cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with bay leaf, if desired. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Click the book cover above to open a PDF of "When the Heart Soars Free"

Previous Events for Way Back in the Country Garden

June 25, 2010 (Friday): Live interview on "Arizona Midday", Channel 12, KPNX, Phoenix. On live TV Kay will prepare a dish from Way Back in the Country Garden.

July 10, 2010 (Saturday): Booksigning for Way Back in the Country Garden at Prairie Rose Flowers & Gifts, 211 West Dallas, Cooper, TX , just across from the Delta County Courthouse. Kay will sign books from 10 a.m. to noon. Snacks prepared from recipes from the cookbook.

July 3, 2010 (Saturday): Booksigning for Way Back in the Country Garden at The Generator coffeehouse, 107 N. 6th Street, on the square in Historic Downtown Garland, TX. Kay will sign books from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cookies prepared from recipes from the cookbook.

About Me

Kay Wheeler Moore is a Pulitzer-Prize nominee who stirred up her heirloom cornbread from "Way Back in the Country" on live TV while she promoted preserving family history through recipes. Her other previous books are "When the Heart Soars Free", a book of Christian fiction, and "Gathering the Missing Pieces in an Adopted Life", based on her Houston Chronicle newspaper series.